Green Thing Blog

Thingloop is a new website that aims to get people sharing more stuff through their social networks instead of buying more.

It's a fantastic idea. Just think of all of the things you could pretend to own that are actually shared between you and your friends. Think about the things you only use a few times, like that Dirty Dancing II: Havana nights DVD. Share that with your friends who will also only use it a few times. 

Thingloop is running something called Monumental May, a project that will try and £100,000 worth of stuff on to thingloop by the end of May.

Be all-consuming and stick with what you got by joining in on the 'sharing revolution'.

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There's some pretty important disussions happening over on the Conservation Economy's website. It hosts a debate on what the marketing and communication industry should do in an economy not based.

'Conservation-Economy.org has been established to provoke a fundemental questioning of the role of marketing, advertising and communications industries in driving consumption. Getting out collective heads around the opportunities and threats of an economy no longer driven by consumption is the purpose of conservation-economy.org. We think this debate is important and we'd like you to get involved...'

At Green Thing, we like to think that you can use advertising and communication channels to get people to think differently. Green Thing's stance on consumerism is similar to the principles of reduce, reuse recycle.

We love things that are all-consuming. This is not buying something new, unless its been repurposed, re-consumed or reused. Or its something that can help prolong the life of other things you own. Remember that one persons trash is another person's treasure. Take odd gloves for example. Gloves are pretty useless when you only have one of them. Instead of throwing them out, why not make glove love?

Green Thing also loves sticking with what you've got. Do you really need an iPad? Sure, its cool looking, portable, 3G technology....but do you really need it? Instead of feeling pressure from ads and friends, try keeping what you have. Take this Macbook Air video as an example.

So, what should the marketing and communications industry do in an economy not based on consumption?

They should sell and support new economies, like ones based on reducing, reusing, recycling and re-consuming.

What do you think? You can join in on the debate on conversation-economy.org and you can find out more on Green Thing about stcking with what you got and all-consuming.

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The Postcode Lottery is on the hunt for the best new products and services that can contribute to promoting eco-friendly lifestyles and reducing carbon emissions.

The winning idea will get €500,000 (a serious amount of start-up cash), expert mentors and a starting list of customers. Second and third place will each walk away with €100,000.

Creative? Entrepreneurial? Passionate? Sound like something you'd like to give a go? Find out more here. The deadline isn't until 31st July 2010 so you've got some time to start plotting our your plan to save the the planet. 

And please do pass this around to people you know- it's a really great opportunity!

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London Green Things, head down to the fabulous Rapha Cycle Club in Clerkenwell for the next week, and say you heard about it from Green Thing to claim your FREE deliciously authentic italian expresso (or cappuccino or latte or whatever your prefered caffeinated tipple is) at their coffee bar.

The 'pop-up' Rapha shop opens tomorrow, Sat 8th May, and is around for only 3 months. It's a beautifully designed emporium of cycle racing style and history and, of course, Rapha clothes and acessories.

Anyone who's serious about their road racing will probably have come across Rapha's best designed, highest quality and most desirable cycling clothing and accessories in the world. If the idea of bleeding lungs after a long hill climb has positive associations for you, then Rapha is your kind of brand.

Their ethos is brilliantly encapsulated by cycling Dutch author Tim Krabbé who coined the phrase ‘glory through suffering’ in his 1978 novel, The Rider:

“The greater the suffering, the greater the pleasure. That is nature’s payback to riders for the homage they pay her by suffering. Velvet pillows, safari parks, sunglasses; people have become woolly mice. They still have bodies that can walk for five days and four nights through a desert of snow, without food, but they accept praise for having taken a one-hour bicycle ride. ‘Good for you’. Instead of expressing their gratitude for the rain by getting wet, people walk around with umbrellas. Nature is an old lady with few friends these days, and those who wish to make use of her charms, she rewards passionately.”

But even if you're a more casual pedaler of pedals, then you might fancy some cycling kit that helps you commute to work in the mornings while making you feel you're part of a legendary Tour de France winning cycling team from the '60s ;-)

[launch party photos from Ekimeno's Flickr photosteam]

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What do Cheryl Cole and the Green Party have in common? Not much to be honest.

Except maybe a shared view about things worth fighting for. The Green Party's campaign slogan, "Fair is worth fighting for" sounds a bit like something borrowed from Cheryl Cole's song lyrics, and in both cases, there has been a result!

The Green Party won their first seat ever in Parliament last night in the UK's General Election. Caroline Lucas has become Green's first MP, representing the Brighton Pavillion.

You can have a peek at the Green's manifesto here.

Cheryl Cole doesn't have a manifesto, I'm afraid.

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